


Promises

by smileyjunior



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-07 03:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18864493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smileyjunior/pseuds/smileyjunior
Summary: Natasha Romanov has been living in Avengers Tower for a few months now.  She has started to establish a new normal until a phone call one afternoon disrupts her new normal.





	1. Chapter 1

When S.H.I.E.L.D. had been exposed as HYDRA two months ago, Natasha Romanoff had disappeared off the grid for a few weeks after her spat on Capitol Hill. Eventually, Tony Stark had tracked her down in the rundown shack she had taken refuge in in Siberia and offered her a home in Avengers Tower—in addition to discreet and secure transport to the tower. She accepted.

Natasha would never admit it out loud, but she was growing tired of her loner lifestyle. She had gotten comfortable in D.C. working alongside Steve and despised herself for feeling sentimental and missing it. Logically, she knew she was better off on her own. Things were safer that way, for her and for those closest to her. But she missed companionship.

So she had been living in Avengers Tower for a few months now. Tony had kept his word and the US Government still had no idea of her whereabouts—though it wasn't for lack of trying. Apart from his eccentric attitude Tony was proving to be a somewhat reasonable housemate. Bruce Banner had been living in the tower since the Battle of New York; he and Tony spent most of their time in the RD labs working on projects and what Natasha assumed were other science experiments. There were days she would go down and chat with them as they worked, in fact Tony had had a sudden inspiration recently and developed some extensions for her Widow Bites. She had tried not to look too pleased when he showed her the finished model.

Steve Rogers had dropped by a few times with Sam Wilson, but for the most part he was still chasing after Bucky. Whenever the topic of the Winter Soldier came up in conversation Natasha felt a prickling in the back of her mind like she knew more about him, but she never put much effort into trying to connect the dots. Steve was on a mission to find his best friend, and she had helped as much as she could with her contact in Kiev. There was nothing else that could be done.

Clint Barton was spending time with his family, but had promised to visit sometime soon. She didn't pressure him or hold her breath. As much as she missed him she knew that he cherished the time he spent with his family and knew that the more time he spent with them would be for the better. She wasn't the only one affected by the S.H.I.E.L.D. fallout; although she had made sure nothing about his family was in the data dump when she spilled the organizations secrets onto the internet. Not that there wasn’t much to find in the first place, Clint had been extremely careful about keeping his family off the books.

Today she was sitting in the RD lab on a stool by the glass door reading a book. Some loud obnoxious song was playing and Bruce and Tony were talking back and forth about working on something they kept calling "Veronica", Natasha had decided not to ask. The book was a "thrilling" spy tale that she found extremely dull so when her cell phone went off she was glad for the excuse to put it down. She looked down at the contact and recognized the number. She didn't assign Laura Barton a contact in case anyone else ever saw her phone, but she had memorized the number and knew it was her calling. Figuring she wouldn't be missed she stepped outside of the lab and put the phone to her ear.

"Hey." Said Natasha.

"Hey Nat," said Laura wearily. "Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all," she responded grinning "you're actually saving me from a great bout of boredom. What's up?" Laura hesitated before answering, and Natasha immediately had alarms going off in her head. "What's wrong?"

"It could be nothing," Laura started to say "Clint left the farm about 3 days ago for New York. He promised he'd call or text when he got there and I haven't heard anything. After everything with S.H.I.E.L.D. he knows that he's supposed to stay in touch… I was wondering if you had heard anything?"

Natasha knew something was wrong, there was no way Clint would leave his wife in this hellish limbo. But she would be damned if she were going to let Laura worry.

"I'm sure it's nothing. I'll go ahead and find out where he is. Simple trace work."

Laura blew out a sigh of relief "Thanks Nat. Do me a favor and give him a slap upside the head when you find him. My blood pressure is shooting through the roof." There was then muffled conversation as Laura spoke to someone off of the phone, then she was back "Lila and Cooper send their love. They're both covered in paint or I'd let them talk with you."

Natasha kept up her front of "Auntie Nat" for the meantime "No worries, tell them I love them and I'll see them soon. I'll let you know when I find him."

"Thanks so much. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye." Natasha ended the call and headed straight for her bedroom. Clint had only ever gone off the reservation one time, and it was after New York. Riddled with guilt and sadness about Coulson he hadn't felt safe to return home until Natasha had tracked him down and talked some sense into him. She had made him promise he would never do anything like that again. Something was definitely wrong. She didn't let her emotions cloud her judgment, heading straight for her laptop she logged on and ran a trace on Clint's phone only to find out it had been disconnected.

"Jarvis," she said to the AI.

"Yes Miss Romanoff?" replied the bodiless voice.

"I need your help, and I need to not let Tony know what's going on. You think you could manage that?"

"Of course, this is a secure connection and whatever we discuss from this point further will not be known to anyone else."

"I need to find Clint Barton, he left his home in Iowa 3 days ago and hasn't been seen since. Can you search traffic cams, flights, anything that has his name attached to it?"

"Of course. One moment." Natasha ran her hands through her hair as she waited for the AI to run it's data. "Mr. Barton flew out of Iowa City 3 days ago, he had a ticket for a connecting flight in Columbus Ohio, but never boarded."

"I need all the security camera footage for the gate he was flying into 3 days ago in Columbus. Pull it up on screen." A holographic screen appeared in front of Natasha showing flights boarding and unboarding. "Search facial recognition for Barton."

"Searching." The AI was working through hundreds of photos at the speed of light until finally "Mr. Barton departed the flight once it landed."

She could see Clint with his luggage. He was fine, looked perfectly normal. "Follow him through the airport Jarvis."

"Yes Miss Romanoff." The other security cameras showed him making his way through the airport until—"My apologies Miss Romanoff, but Mr. Barton seems to have vanished."

Natasha felt her heart drop "What do you mean vanished?" she said "Can you check any other cameras? He can't have just disappeared."

"One moment please." The AI scanned through some more cameras before suddenly,

"Jarvis stop it right there." The images froze. She stepped closer, hoping she was wrong. "Zoom in right here," she said pointing to the upper right hand corner. The AI obliged and Natasha cursed herself as she found herself looking at a familiar face. Her past couldn't seem to stay buried, and now she couldn’t help but think Clint was going to pay the price.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scenes in Italics are in the past. Scenes in bold AND italics are in the Russian language.

A/N: Scenes in italics are in the past. Scenes in bold AND italics are in the Russian language.

_Years Ago…_

_Natalia – no, Natasha – was still adjusting to life at S.H.I.E.L.D. True she was no longer convinced that they were going to haul her out back and shoot her in the head but that didn't mean she had let her guard down at all. On the contrary, Natasha seemed even more vigilant and alert then ever if that were even possible._

_She was no longer residing in a cell, they had moved her to an observational bedroom. They didn't trust her fully, but she didn't mind. She didn't trust herself either._

_There was a knock at the door but she didn't move—the door was locked on her end so even if she wanted to she couldn't open it._

 

_"You decent?" Came the voice of Clint Barton as he opened the door a bit, then stepped fully inside._

 

_"You would know," she replied not looking at him. "There are security cameras in this room and the monitor is right outside."_

 

_Clint ignored this comment and stared at her, his hands on his hips. When she didn't look up he gently nudged her foot that was hanging off of the bed. She looked up, he was grinning broadly and she quirked an eyebrow in question. "What?" She asked._

 

_"How are you adjusting?" He asked._

 

_"Why do you care?" This was a pointless question, she knew the answer. He had spared her life for whatever reason all those months ago, and he had told her it was because he decided to "make a different call."_

 

_In fact, Clint didn't acknowledge this with a response instead he looked around the room, and after a moment said "Why can't you sleep?" Natasha froze. She didn't meet his gaze. Pushing down the small emotion of panic that had risen in her chest._

 

_She took a beat before responding "What are you talking about?"_

_At this, Clint dropped the façade. He went towards the bed she was sitting on and gently nudged her "Scooch." He said. She contemplated refusing for a moment, but decided against it and moved over so he could sit down. He did, and rested his elbows on his knees. She still wasn't looking at him._

 

_"It's been happening more frequently," he said. "You go to sleep and you wake up scared for your life."_

_Natasha shot him a dirty look, "You couldn't possibly know that."_

_He raised an eyebrow, not challenging her "You wake up in cold sweats after tossing and turning and the look in your eyes, no matter how hard you try to hide it—is one of pure fear."_

_She looked away again and cursed herself for being so transparent. No one said anything for a few moments, there was no way she was going to acknowledge this. "Nat…" he said, nudging her knee with his gently "Talk to me. Please."_

_It would have been incredibly easy to deflect, to lie or to deny any of what he was saying. But Clint was the first person she had ever met who was the closest person she had ever had as a friend—a concept she was still getting used to. She didn't want to alienate him, if she were going to truly adapt to this new life at S.H.I.E.L.D. she knew she needed him on her side._

_"The people who trained me… the organization that trained me… they are persistent. And they detest traitors." She chose her next words carefully, "They have undoubtedly discovered my defection. And they are not forgiving. They will come after me. And when they do… they will turn me back into the monster I once was."_

_"You're not a monster-" he started to say, but she shook her head._

_"You don't understand Barton. They do things to the mind, I can’t I physically can’t remember half of what they made me do. To them, my memories... my brain it serves as a playground. They don't see me as a person. I am a weapon. A weapon to be used. Their weapon." He didn't say anything, didn’t dare interrupt. This was the first time she had truly confided in him. "Barton I need you to make me a promise."_

_"What?" he said._

_She swallowed a dry mouth, and took a breath before answering "If they ever, ever get their hands on me again-"_

_"Nat they're neve-"_

_"Clint please." A hint of desperation showed in her voice. He stopped talking. "If they get me back, I don't want to be the monster I once was. I trust you… I trust you to make the right call. Don't let them take away my humanity again."_

_Clint couldn't believe his ears, and he felt inclined to deny her request and tell her she was crazy to even think he would do that. But there was something about the way her eyes seemed to plead with him. He nodded._

_"I promise Natasha."_

Remembering that day, all those years ago… Natasha couldn't help the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach of the horrible irony. She had always assumed that if the Red Room were going to make a move against her, it would be made directly against her.

Instead they blindsided her. She had gotten too comfortable, she had let her guard down. And after everything that had happened with S.H.I.E.L.D. she couldn't believe she had let this happen. What was she supposed to tell Laura? No... he was going to be okay. He had to be.

Natasha stared at the airport surveillance video, stared at the familiar face that leered at her best friend. The face belonged to Yelena Belova, a failed Black Widow recruit who spent most of her life despising Natasha for earning the title of Black Widow which she had failed to earn herself. Except, apparently Yelena was still in league with the Red Room. She always had been an overachiever and had done her best to please their masters. A new wave of hatred washed over her. It fueled the blood in her veins.

"Jarvis…" she said, doing her best to keep her voice calm. She could not let emotions cloud her judgement.

"Yes Miss Romanoff?" Did the AI sound hesitant? She pushed the thought away, let the thing think whatever it wanted.

"I need you to scan facial recognition any and everywhere for that face. Wherever she's been spotted I want to know. Most recently would be helpful."

The AI didn't respond, it just started it's scan. Natasha took the time to pack a bag and gear up. Gone were the comfort clothes she had been wearing previously. She got into tactical gear and loaded up her person with weapons. She buckled in combat boots and took several knives and hid them on her person. Jarvis responded approximately seven minutes later,

"Miss Romanoff I do believe I have found something."

"Show me." Jarvis zoomed out to a map of the US and zoomed in on New York. There she was, looking directly at the CTV camera a dirty grin on her face, holding up what looked like a Polaroid picture with some writing on it. "When was this picture taken?"

"Earlier today, approximately 1 hour ago, just outside of Avengers Tower."

"Zoom in Jarvis, and clear up the image." He did and Natasha's blood boiled even more if that were even possible. The Polaroid was a picture of Clint, bound and unconscious and he had clearly been beaten. The writing was in Russian but it could not be more clear. "Time to come home Natalia, we'll be waiting."

"Miss Romanoff," Jarvis started to say "May I advise-"

"No you may not." She cut him off. She pulled out her phone and scrolled down until she found who she was looking for, she pressed the contact and put the phone to her ear "Don't talk, I need a jet. Now. No questions asked... you owe me." She grabbed her bag and headed out of the room. She had a flight to catch.


	3. Chapter 3

Jarvis had had to deal with so many of Tony Stark’s stunts in which the genius, billionare, playboy philanthropist had nearly gotten himself killed so many times that the AI had gotten used to his reckless lifestyle. This did not mean that he approved. In fact, Jarvis had rather hoped that after the other Avengers moved into the tower, common sense would settle in and they would rely on each other whenever they found themselves in a tight spot.

Therefore, when Natasha had requested Jarvis shut out Tony from knowing about what she was up to he had made sure to find a loophole—Natasha had requested that only Tony not know what was going on. But luckily there was still another Avenger in the tower.

Jarvis waited until after she had left the tower, and as soon as she was en route to the airport he turned his attention towards the other scientist. Automatically turning down the blasting music in the RD lab he spoke over the speakers, "Dr. Banner if I may have a word?"

Bruce was taken aback. Tony was just insulted his music had been turned down, "Jarvis! What gives?"

"My apologies sir," the AI began to say "it is very important that I speak with Dr. Banner as soon as possible."

Bruce looked at Tony who looked back at Bruce utterly perplexed. Bruce still didn't say anything, so Tony said "Any particular reason why?"

"I'm sorry sir I cannot disclose that information directly to you."

Okay, now he was getting pissed. "Jarvis what the hell?!"

At this Jarvis ignored Tony and directed all of his attention to Bruce. "Dr. Banner I feel it is important to tell you that approximately 10 minutes Miss Romanoff left the tower on what I believe to be a potential suicide mission."

That shut Tony up real quick. Bruce didn't speak for a moment, he opened his mouth and then closed it again. And he did that a few more times before finally finding his voice "What do you mean Jarvis?"

Jarvis pulled up a holographic screen, an image of Clint in the Columbus airport appeared, as well as a side picture of a blonde woman. "Clint Barton was en route to Avengers Tower and did not report in. That was 3 days ago. Miss Romanoff asked me to track his whereabouts and I discovered his location last known to be in the Columbus Ohio airport--"

"What the hell is Barton doing in Ohio—?" Tony started to say but Bruce waved at him to be quiet.

"Upon further investigation Miss Romanoff recognized another individual at the airport, this woman," the image of the blonde woman was zoomed in more so they could get a better look at her. "Miss Romanoff became highly alert and asked to do a scan for any facial recognition of the individual and I discovered her on a CTV camera outside of Avengers tower." The next image the showed was the zoomed in image that Jarvis had discovered of the woman holding the Polaroid picture with the Russian handwriting on it.

"Jarvis," Tony started to say his voice trembling as he saw the image of the Polaroid "What does the Russian mean?"

"I apologize Mr. Stark but I cannot relay that information to you. Miss Romanoff specifically asked that you not be told of any of the circumstances surrounding this situation."

Bruce understood, even if Tony was feeling more than annoyed now mixed with his feelings of worry for Barton and his worry/anger at Natasha. "Jarvis what does the Russian translate to?" asked Bruce.

"The speech reads "Time to come home Natalia, we'll be waiting.""

Bruce and Tony met each other's gaze again. Bruce was lost, but when he looked at Tony a look of understanding was dawning on his face. "Do you have any clue…?" Bruce started to ask Tony.

"I've read her file, after she dumped it with the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets on the internet. Bruce, this isn't good."

"I'm completely in the dark here Tony, you're going to have to help me out."

Tony patted down his pockets and started searching for something, "Sorry Banner we don't have time to talk this out." He found his phone and tablet and headed out of the lab. "C'mon Brucie." Bruce followed him out and tried to keep up and Tony who was basically sprinting towards the hangar where the quinjet was. "Our favorite Russian locked me out of Jarvis on this particular mission but that doesn't mean I can't come and help. You'll have to communicate with Jarvis though, and find out where we need to go and what we need to do. Romanoff's walking into a death trap. She's going to get herself and Barton killed. Damn stubborn woman…"

"Tony!" Bruce snapped, and Tony looked up from the tablet he was typing on.

"Bruce, I'm going to need to ask you to keep it together. Veronica isn't ready for the field, I can't be focused on having to contain a Hulk. You'll stay in the quinjet and be the lookout I'm not going to send you into any firefights. We'll pick up Rogers on the way. Don't go green on me buddy. You can read the file when we're en route. But I have to warn you… it's pretty messed up. The only way you're coming is if you promise you won't go green. Or else I will go get Rogers without you and explain the situation to him so he can work with Jarvis."

It had been a while since Tony had sounded so serious. Bruce felt a horrible sense of foreboding "Tony I don't know if I can do this…"

Tony stopped and put a hand on the scientist's shoulder "Bruce I won't sugarcoat it, this isn't going to be good, but goddammit we're the Avengers. And if we're not there to help each other what good is getting together every few years to save the world?" Bruce swallowed looking the other scientist in the eye, trepidation written all over his face. "So tell me, can you do this?"

Bruce searched Tony's eyes before responding, "Let's go."

———————————————

The flight from New York to Moscow was 9 hours and 20 minutes long. Natasha had seriously considered taking the quinjet and just flying herself to Moscow but that would be too obvious, Tony would know she were up to something and would undoubtedly come after her taking up time that she didn't have. So she had called Fury and demanded he get her a jet by any means necessary with no questions asked. 15 minutes after the phone call she was in the air.

Natasha spent the flight sharpening her knives and cleaning her weapons. The pilot was a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and didn't say anything as she worked silently. Natasha couldn't get the image of Yelena's smirk out of her head. The bitch thought she had one up on her… but she had made a horrible mistake. Going after Clint was signing her own death warrant. Natasha would make sure of that.

She slept only because she knew her body needed it to be in top shape. She woke up when the pilot announced they were descending and didn't thank him as she departed the plane. She hailed a cab and headed towards the outskirts of the city. She was going back to the Red Room.

———————————————

Tony hadn't been lying when he said the file was messed up. Bruce felt sick to his stomach by the time he was done reading it. Tony kept glancing over at him, making sure he wasn't in danger of turning green. In fact he was doing it so often Bruce finally said "You don't have to worry Tony. We're going to get there in one piece. Can't promise I won't let the other guy out to smash these bastards when we get there though."

That didn't comfort Tony at all "Yeah Bruce buddy, while I appreciate the fact that you're starting to embrace your alter ego I'm still not sure that's the best idea. I think we'll still ground you on the quinjet." He could've sworn he actually heard Bruce snarl, "Besides… I think we might need to doctor more than the other guy once this is all over." Bruce didn't answer that and Tony let it go for now. He spoke to his AI "Hey Jarvis, this is a completely innocent request and has nothing whatsoever to do with anything that you've showed us in the past hour: do you think you could locate our dear friend Steve Rogers for us please? And also get him on the phone? I think we're due for an Avengers family reunion."

Bruce smirked despite himself as Jarvis replied "But of course sir."

A few moments passed in silence except for the ring of a phone. The familiar voice answered "Rogers."

Tony didn't hesitate "Hey Cap! How are you?" Without waiting for an answer he continued "Listen Legolas and Miss 'I could kill you with my pinky finger' have gotten themselves into a tight spot and we're reassembling most of the team."

Steve didn't question or hesitate, which Tony was grateful for because he really didn't want to have to put up with '20 Questions with Captain America', and in that moment he was somewhat grateful that Rogers had been in the center of the S.H.I.E.L.D. collapse because it had made some of his naivety wash away. "I'm currently in Wales, how can I get to you?"

"Don't move we're on the way."  
"We?"

"Yeah, like I said—most of the team Banner is with me. You still hanging around the guy with the wings?"

"Sam? Yeah, he's here with me."

"Great he can come along too, we'll induct him as a temporary Avenger. Eta 3 hours, Jarvis will explain everything."

"I'm sorry sir," Jarvis started to say "But I cannot-"

"Oh for the love of-!" Tony was going to have some choice words with Romanoff when they got out of this mess. "Bruce?"

Bruce cleared his throat "Jarvis please relay all information to Captain Rogers."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm having fun (that never happens) Also, bad language ahead. It seemed appropriate but if you want me to up the rating let me know. I really don't know if anyone is reading this, if you are maybe review, comment? Let me know how I'm doing? PS: I have nothing against Russians, any and all comments about Russians is for the purpose of the story and it’s plot

Clint held a certain animosity towards Russians. The only Russian he had ever met that he didn't immediately despise was Natasha, and he had been sent to kill her originally. To Clint, Russians weren't any good. He came to that conclusion easily. In fact, they sucked quite a lot.

He thought this as he sat bound in chains in the warehouse, semi drugged on whatever compound they had dosed him with. He didn't know how long he had been there. He was fairly sure it had only been a few days but he could barely recall being taken in the first place. He remembered his plane landing in Columbus, getting off the plane and walking through the airport… then nothing. He had woken up in a drugged haze back on a different airplane, before being hit with some more drugs.

The next time he had woken up he was more lucid and took action. He set out immediately to try and get a handle on the situation—he knew escape was basically impossible at that point, with that many drugs in your system he was lucky he was as lucid as he was. He just wanted to get a handle on his bearings, see if he could find out where he had been taken— all he knew for certain is that he was in the backseat of a car.

When the car had stopped he had taken out 2 individuals and kicked out the window in the backseat before hurling himself out and rolling onto the pavement. He had heard the tires screech to a stop and knew he only had a few moments. He looked around and saw a billboard that was advertising—not in English. And that was when he realized he was in Russia.

He was so taken aback that he was not in America he didn't think about the fact that someone was coming up behind him, and he defend himself from the person who whacked him on the back of the head. His vision whited out and he crumpled to the ground groaning. He had barely gotten to his knees when a fist pummeled him across the face. Then he was kicked in the ribs several times, he coughed the wind knocked out of him, and he tried to curl in on himself for protection. He was dragged back towards the car his captors speaking in Russian, he was lifted into a trunk and saw in his blurred vision a needle coming towards him. Instinctively he struggled again but was overpowered and held down by numerous hands as the needle was plunged into his jugular and he lost consciousness once more.

When he woke up again he was in this warehouse, chained. Every few hours someone would come and inject him with a drug, it didn't make him lose consciousness completely but it made his vision swim and he was certain that if he tried he wouldn't be able to stand up. He had tried talking to his captors the first time someone came in to inject him; he had tried to question them but after the drug was put into his bloodstream he found himself with a loose jaw unable to talk.

He was pissed. And wanted to raise hell. He hated feeling helpless. His body ached and was sore. He knew his face looked like shit, one of his eyes had swollen shut and running his tongue over his lips confirmed it had split open. Fucking Russians.

He heard someone approaching, and braced himself. He didn't bother looking up, he wasn’t even sure if he could. His gaze still fixed on the floor. A pair of combat boots came into his frame of vision, they were attached to slender legs. Someone placed their finger underneath his chin and forced him to meet their eye. It was a woman, roughly 5'8" tall. She had silvery blonde hair that was pulled back into a bun. Her face seemed to be symmetrically perfect and Clint found it unnerving. What was also unnerving was the smile she had on her face, lips red as a rose—like she knew a dirty secret that could determine the outcome of the future. She saw Clint giving her a once over and laughed breathily and spoke in accented English "I thought for sure… there was no possible way the Widow would come for you." Clint's heart skipped a beat. He didn't let it show. He had wondered whether this had anything to do with Natasha… But didn’t want to jump to conclusions. This confirmed his suspicions. "We trained her to do better. But, Belova just checked in. And sure enough, the Widow is returning home." She removed her finger and his chin dropped back down to his chest. A wave of panic was threatening to overtake him. "To rescue you. Disappointing for several reasons. One, I will have to acknowledge Belova's correct assumption. It would seem she still may be useful. Two… the fact that Natalia has become so weak to acknowledge that she cares for others… would risk her life for others… it is sickening." The woman spoke with disgust, she paused for a moment contemplating him. "But no matter. She will be reeducated." He could sense that she was in close proximity, "They call you Hawkeye… and you use a bow and arrow. Such a medieval weapon." He felt a sudden pressure on his right shoulder. He inhaled quickly, and could almost sense the satisfied smirk that had surely appeared on the woman's face. "What happens I wonder," she continued "when you can no longer use your arm?"

He still couldn't make a sound, but he could feel the rip of pain as he felt his arm being pulled out of it's socket. He cursed the woman in his head and breathed through the pain. The sound of more combat boots reached his ears. "She is on her way. Prepare him for transport." The woman said to whoever had just arrived. Clint still couldn't move or speak as someone came forward and injected him once again, which he was grateful for the first time as it allowed him to escape the fiery pain in his arm.

Mother-fucking Russians.

———————————————

The moment Natasha landed in Russia she knew she was being watched. She didn't expect anything less. It didn't stop the small tug of apprehension from making it's way into her mind. Every fiber of her being was fighting against her continuing to make her way further into Russia. She knew what she was walking into, and she knew she probably wouldn't be walking out of it. But she was also determined; if one of them was going to walk out of this it would be Clint. She would make sure of that. Whatever it was Yelena wanted, Clint would be the one to walk out alive and return to his family.

She stood outside of the gated white building that resembled a school. Memories flooded back to her, whether they were real or not she had no idea.

Her hands grappled with another young girl, nameless, faceless. Natalia got the upper hand, her hands made her way to the girl's head and shoulder and with a quick twist and a loud crack the other girl fell to the floor motionless.

Natasha pulled herself back from the memory. She was breathing sharply through her nose and cursed herself for letting herself lose focus. She had a job to do. It was the only thing that mattered. She strode forward, walking into the lion's den.

———————————————

Steve and Sam were now on the quinjet with Bruce and Tony. Tony hadn't bothered with any pleasantries, as soon as both of them were on board they had taken off again and were en route to Russia. Jarvis had relayed most if not all of the pertinent information to them both, and they were also able to read hard copies of the files when they got on board.

Shocked didn't even begin to describe the emotion Steve was feeling when he found out what they were dealing with. While he had known Natasha didn't come from a necessarily happy childhood—you didn't become the woman she had become with happy circumstances—he had been sickened to read about the Red Room and what they had put her through. Sam hadn't spoken since he boarded the quinjet, and actually looked physically sick. Steve wanted to say something but found himself unable to speak. After an hour of silent flying Tony spoke up,

"So we can deduce that after Romanoff made the info dump on the internet this…" he paused searching for a proper description "this place decided they wanted to make a move against her. It would have been difficult to do after the Battle of New York, she started working with you Cap. But… with S.H.I.E.L.D. being exposed as HYDRA there weren't any safety nets in place. She went solo."

Sam spoke for the first time, his voice scratchy from disuse "Except they didn't go after her." He said solemnly. "They went after Barton."

"Clint was the one who recruited Nat to S.H.I.E.L.D." Steve said, he voice dangerously low. "They would have seen that in the data dump, they would know…" he inhaled sharply "They would know they had a special relationship. Going after Clint would guarantee that Nat would pursue them."

"And she wouldn't seek help." Added Bruce. “She’d go after them alone.”

Tony bit back a retort he wanted to say about the stubbornness of the redheaded Russian—snarky retorts wouldn't do any of them any good. They rode in silence for a few more moments.

"So what's our play?" asked Sam.

Steve thought for a moment, "We find Barton, get him to safety. Then assist Romanoff in any way possible. Let her take the lead, don't engage unless absolutely necessary. She deserves closure." He looked around at the other men in the jet, "Maybe take out a few bad guys on the way." He looked at Bruce, "I think we need you to stay here. Hulk showing up in Russia would be a dead giveaway. Then again, so would Iron Man, but at least Tony can be in stealth mode. Wait here, we'll bring Barton to you."

Bruce nodded, shoving the anxiety that threatened to overtake him down.

"30 minutes out." Said Tony.

"Let's gear up." Steve said.

Natasha was able to enter the compound easily. Too easily. She didn't encounter a single living person. She didn't know what game Yelena was playing. At this point, the wannabe Widow had to know that Natasha was coming for Clint. So what was the point of hiding?

She headed down the seemingly abandoned hallway, memories threatening to overtake her once again. She shoved these down, and made her way further into the compound. Just ahead she could see a door slightly ajar, a strip of light near the bottom and shadows moving so that she knew there were people in the room. She momentarily contemplated getting into the vents and sneaking up on them—but ultimately decided it would be no use. Better to face this problem head on and get Clint to safety as soon as possible. Even if it meant surrendering herself.

The terrible sense of foreboding was shooting through every nerve of her body by the time she got right up to the door. She pushed it open and what she saw nearly made her lose her footing.

She knew this room.

A chair was in the middle, restrainsts attached to the arms and legs. A circular electronic contraption was at the top, which she knew was used to lower onto it's subjects head. The chair was hooked up to a computer and several scientists stood around the room. None of them looked up as she entered.

The thing that surprised Natasha the most was the woman who was waiting standing next to the chair, her silvery blonde hair as perfect as she last remembered it being. Except, she had thought this woman dead. Obviously she was very much alive.

The woman's ruby red lips split into a smile, and she spoke in accented English, "Welcome home Natalia… my little spider."

Madame B... fuck.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bad language again. Because this Red Room stuff gets me in a tizzy.

"Madame." Natasha said cooly. She was grateful her voice seemed calmed and collected. Because internally that was definitely not what she was feeling. She had thought Madame B. long dead and gone… smoldering in the ashes of one of the factions of the Red Room she had attempted to destroy years before defecting. But apparently, being the cockroach she was—Madame B. just couldn't seem to be destroyed. Another quick glance around the room told Natasha Clint wasn't inside. "Where is he?"

Madame B. chuckled, amusement filling her usually stoic face "Your hawk?" she asked. "He is near. Yelena is seeing to him."

 _Fuck. You._ Madame B. seemed to know what she was thinking… like she always did.

"Your emotions are showing Natalia. I taught you better. You have become weak." At this last statement her grin dropped and she looked revolted.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Natasha bit out. "It's going around. I thought you dead."

Madame B. had the ghost of an amused smile cross her face "Sorry to disappoint you."

They stared at each other across the room for a few silent seconds until Natasha spoke again "Let's get this over with. Let me see him, let him go and I'll stay."

Madame B. raised her eyebrows in mock surprise before turning to one of the armed guards standing by the door and saying to him in Russian, "Have her bring him in."

A few more silent moments passed by where Natasha and Madame B. just stood staring at each other. Natasha did her best not to convey any emotions on her face. Madame B. looked amused by the effort, because she could tell that it was taking effort. After a few moments the sound of a door slamming and a struggle reached their ears. The guard reentered the room, followed by Clint who was pushed to the ground by Yelena who came in right behind him. Natasha worked hard to keep her face neutral as she looked down at her best friend. He was chained at the wrists, and his wrists were connected to a chain that also attached his ankles. He was badly bruised and had a split lip, one of his eyes was also nearly swollen shut. The swelling and misplacement of his right shoulder told her that his arm had been ripped out of it's socket. Sick bastards. Yelena aimed a kick at his ribs and he went back down, slowly but surely finally looking up and meeting Natasha's gaze.

If he was surprised, he didn't let it show. Natasha figured he must have deduced what was going on sometime over the past few days while he was held captive. He did take a little longer then usual to come up with a smart-ass response though, which led Natasha to believe they had also been drugging him. "Hey Nat… long time no see."

Natasha didn't respond, she looked at him directly in the eye and tried to convey a silent message. But by the way Clint was swaying and squinting trying to focus on her she would have bet he had no clue what she was trying to do. She looked back up at Madame B. "You have me. Let him go." She said in a soft but dangerous voice. Yelena had the audacity to chuckle, and Natasha fought hard not to lash out at the blonde. Madame B. on the other hand showed no outward acknowledgement of hearing Natasha. Instead she walked forward and stroked Natasha's cheek gently.

"It is time for you to return home Natalia."

Natasha didn't flinch but it was a near thing. She fought against every fiber of her being that told her to fight back, and she stood there letting the woman caress her cheek. "Let. Him. Go." She said again.

Madame B.'s hand dropped back to her side, "You have become so weak. When Yelena told me that the Hawk would be your weakness I didn't believe her. I let her entertain herself with the fantasy, allowed her to orchestrate his capture. As soon as I discovered you were truly coming after him and I realized she was right… I knew we had our work cut out for us. You have forgotten your training. You now rely on so-called friends and heroes. Whether they are made of metal, or whether they supposedly are an expert marksman. You have become weak. We will fix this."

"Do you have trouble hearing?" Clint's voice cut through and Madame B. stopped speaking before looking down at him. "You're either deaf or you have selective hearing...or you're just ignoring her which is – quite frankly rude. We don't do that in America. Not sure why it seems to be a Russian thing, then again maybe all Russians are rude like that? Maybe it’s a Russian thing."

Yelena lashed out and kicked Clint across the face cutting him off. Madame B. looked unimpressed, meeting Natasha’s gaze again, "He thinks himself funny does he not? The hawk."

Natasha didn't acknowledge this. Madame B. gestured towards 2 more armed guards who came forward and went to take Natasha by the arms. But Clint wasn't in the clear yet, and there was no way she was going to submit until he was safe. That was the only thing that would guarantee her cooperation. When the first guard took her arm she swung it around and grabbed the side of his head to bash it against the other guard's head. His gun flew out of his hand and Natasha caught it before aiming it at Madame B. Every gun in the room was now trained on Natasha.

Madame B. looked thoroughly amused. "Are you going to kill me Natalia?" She asked in a tone that suggested she was speaking to a young child. "As I understand, you have tried to do that before with little success."

"I will do whatever you want," Natasha said through gritted teeth "But not until you let him go."

"Nat…" Clint started to say.

"Shut up Barton." Natasha cut him off not looking at him. Her gaze was still locked onto Madame B. Madame B. smiled a dastardly smile,

"You are in no place to make demands Natalia." Suddenly every gun in the room was aimed at Clint. "Put the gun down or the hawk dies. Either way, we win. We will get you back no matter what."

Natasha felt her heart burn with rage, but she lowered the weapon and allowed the next two guards to man handle her into the chair. They tightened the straps over her wrists and legs. They also tightened one across her waist, shoulders, and knees. The circular contraption was lowered and buckled underneath her chin so that it wrested on her head like a helmet. Madame B. entered her range of vision, pulled an additional strap that stretched across the head of the chair over her mouth she that she was effectively gagged. She looked pleased, calmly pleased and satisfactory. Yelena yanked Clint to the opposite wall so that he was also in Natasha's range of vision. He wasn't done yet though,

"Listen you sick fucks," he started to say his voice getting louder and more desperate— he didn’t want to watch this he didn’t want to see her go through this. "Your idea of order and obedience is disgusting. She's a human being and she doesn't owe you shit. She's her own person. She--" a guard cracked him over the back of his head with a rifle and he groaned going down. He tried to start to speak again, but it came out as of wordless mumbling. At this point the number of hits he had taken to his head had rendered him with a much more slurred speech— it didn’t much matter though, a rough cloth was shoved into his mouth and then a strip of fabric was tied over it. Yelena yanked Clint up so that he could see clearly what was happening. He had to swallow the bile that filled his throat, whether because he was sickened by what was happening or because at this point he had been hit in the head so many times he didn't know.

Madame B. looked over at him, "And now hawk," she began to say. "You will see what you have subjected her to. By letting her betray her country. By, what you consider "rescuing her". See how she is returned to her former self. And then she will kill you." Madame B. nodded at a scientist who went over to the computer and typed for a few moments.

The sound of the machine whirring up started. Clint could see the energy building in the contraption. Then suddenly there was a loud zapping emitting from the helmet like device around Natasha's head, and he knew that if she could—she would be screaming.

The quinjet was starting to make its descent.

"How do we know where to start looking?" asked Sam.

This was a question that all of them had been thinking but none of them had voiced until now.

"Jarv?" asked Tony addressing the AI.

"Yes sir?" The AI replied.

"Can you search for any energy surges in the Moscow area? Look for anything abnormal, or stranger then usual."

"You think they're going to try to reprogram her?" asked Bruce.

Tony didn't meet his eye, "I can't think of why else they would go through all of this trouble of getting her back here. They're greedy sons of bitches who think they're entitled…" Tony trailed off unable to fully voice what he was feeling. Bruce didn't pursue the matter.

"Sir," said Jarvis "there is an unusual amount of energy activity occurring in a compound just outside of Moscow. The energy being used is much higher then normal and is draining the local power grids."

"Find us a parking site near there Jarvis, and go into stealth mode complete with shields and cloaking."

10 minutes later the quinjet had landed and everyone except Bruce had disembarked.

Clint felt sick. He now knew it definitely wasn't because of his head injury. Natasha was his best friend, he had saved her from this life long ago. He knew it had been bad. He could remember offering her a way out just as though it were yesterday. But now as he kneeled on the floor incapacitated and gagged, and he watched her involuntarily twitch and thrash fighting against her restraints absorbing the shocks that were being sent through her body, the only thing he found himself regretting was that he hadn't made sure that the Red Room had burned down to the ground.

He recalled all those years ago, that day he met her in her sleeping quarters and he had asked why she wasn't sleeping. How for the first time he had heard real fear in her voice, and how she had made him promise she wouldn't ever be made to live as a monster (or what she perceived to be a monster) again. He also remembered the day he met her… The day he didn’t complete the mission.

_Years ago…_

_He would be lying if he said he hadn't been trying to find ways to stall his mission. There was just something about the situation that didn't feel right. Clint was always better at seeing things from a distance… and in this particular instance from this distance he could tell the Black Widow while vastly dangerous and a trained killer—there was more to her then met the eye._

_But he had just gotten off the phone with Coulson who hadn't quite yelled at him, but hadn't been asking nicely either. The World Security Council was getting restless and they wanted the Widow taken out._

_She was doing independent work, he wasn't sure what her mission was but she had been cosying up to a businessman all week long and knew she would be making her play soon whatever it may be. He was currently staking her hideout, arrow notched and ready to go. She should be arriving any moment now… and sure enough she walked in the front door, and closed it leaning against it holding her side. He faltered, lowering the bow once more. She looked exhausted and there was something in her eyes, almost like something was screaming._

_He recalled a conversation he had had with his wife Laura before they had married after a few months of dating:_

_"Why me?" he had asked, in awe of the woman who held his hand and looked at him with such love in her eyes. "I don't deserve you… what did I ever do to earn your love and trust?"_

_Laura had looked back at him with a kind and sympathetic smile. "Your eyes," she had replied in a gentle voice "I could see it in your eyes. You're a good man Clint Barton. And if I have to show you why or how I will. I will prove it to you. You are deserving."_

_Clint looked at the woman his arrow had been aiming at moments before, looked into her eyes again and saw them screaming something. Phil was going to maim him._

_He aimed the arrow again and let it soar, knowing it would land where he intended. He then nocked another grappling hook arrow and sent it across the street before swinging over onto it. He entered her hideout and saw her looking at him with disdain, she was pinned in place, his arrow had hit true and pierced her leg to the wall._

_"Sorry," he said not sounding sorry at all "we need to talk."_

_"I know you're here to kill me." She said darkly. "Just get it over with."_

_He shook his head "I can't do that."_

_She quirked an eyebrow in surprise, "Do you usually disobey direct orders?"_

_He shrugged smiling faintly "Only if I disagree with them."_

_She still couldn't move, and she felt blood seeping through her the pants she had worn while undercover that day. The arrow had been embedded into the wall fairly deep and she had to admit she was impressed with the shot. She had heard of the marksman Hawkeye and knew of his legendary status. The shot shouldn't have impressed her but she supposed she was starting to lose her touch. Something she didn't want to admit._

_"What do you want?" she asked._

_"Me? Nothing in particular."_

_"Everybody wants something. You ignored your orders, and you're talking to your target. What is it you want?"_

_Straight to the point then, okay he could do that. "You've done a lot of harm. You've killed and lied in the service of liars and killers for years."_

__

_"How dare--" she started to say but he cut her off._

_"But I think you could do more. You could be more. You just need to be given the opportunity." He said. "I can see that you can be better Natalia. Yes, I know your name…" he added as a side note when she gave the slightest indication of surprise. "I want to give you the opportunity to prove it."_

__

_She scoffed "Do you not also lie and kill in the service of liars and killers? How is your organization any different from what I do?"_

__

_Well she had a point, but he still knew that what S.H.I.E.L.D. did was for the greater good and the benefit of humanity. "S.H.I.E.L.D. works hard to protect those who can't protect themselves. They stick their neck out for the little guy."_

_"Are you calling me little?"_

_He smirked, "Not at all. I'm saying with your skills you could help out a lot of people. Maybe start to wipe some of the red from your ledger. You owe it to yourself to try."_

_"How do you know I'm even capable?" she asked._

_He looked at her head on and said with complete honesty "It's in your eyes."_

The only thing he ever regretted about this encounter was using that damn metaphor to recruit her. She had never let it go, and he felt responsible. With her thought process it seemed as though she would never cut herself a break and would forever be working to clear out the red from her ledger.

Now, as he watched her humanity being stripped away from her once again—he felt another wave of regret. When she had expressed her worry about the Red Room all those years ago he should have acted. But it had gotten pushed to the back of his mind. How could he ever forgive himself?

The machine was turned off but her body continued to twitch with the aftershocks. When she opened her eyes there was nothing behind them but a blank stare. The Natasha he knew wasn't there.

Fucking Russians.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Different points of view are observed in this chapter, so it bounces a bit back and forth.

_No…_ he thought to himself.  Madame B. had stepped forward bending forward, “Check her.”  She said to the scientist.

The scientist leaned in with a small pen light and shined it into Natasha’s eyes.  She remained stoically still and with a neutral expression on her face. 

_Nat…_

“She’s been wiped.”  The scientist said.  Clint hung his head--he couldn’t help it he was exhausted and he had failed his best friend.  He was going to kill every last one of them if he ever got out of this mess.  Yelena chuckled softly beside him, removing the gag from his mouth.

“Your all powerful Widow…” she said, rubbing his shoulders in a false gesture of comfort.  It made his skin crawl. “Reduced to nothing in mere moments.  How does it feel hawk?  Impressive is it not?  How quickly we can get our traitors to come back to us.  She never even deserved the title.  The bitch betrayed her country and now comes back and has to re-earn the title she stole.”

Clint felt a wave of fury washing over him, “She’s more of the Widow then you ever were, then you’ll ever be.”  He tried to back head-butt her but failed miserably and wound up on the floor.  He received another kick to his ribs for his effort.

The scientist undid Natasha’s restraints and stepped back.  Madame B. clasped her hands behind her back, and stared at Natasha with a content expression.  “Natalia,” she spoke in a sharp tone and continued in English (which Clint was 99% sure she was doing for his “benefit”) “You have returned home after being away for some time.  However you must prove your loyalty once more.”  Madame B. withdrew a gun from her waist and held it out to Natasha.  “This man is a traitor and a threat to Mother Russia.  Kill him, and you can come home.”

He knew it had been coming, but it didn’t make the panic go away.  Yelena hauled him up from the floor and was firmly holding him in place now, “It’s too bad…” she cooed in his ear “I wish we could have spent more time together.  After a few hours with me, I’m fairly certain I could have made you want to be mine.”

Clint actually had to fight the impulse to physically gag, “Don’t hold your breath lady,” he said more to himself then to her “I don’t go for crazy psycho bitches.”

Natasha, or Natalia had stood up and taken the gun from Madame B. she stared at it in her hand and contemplated the weapon.

Suddenly there was a commotion in the hallway.  The scientist looked around at Madame B. worry evident on his face.  Yelena was scowling suspiciously and Madame B. turned to her saying “Go see what’s happening.”  Disappointed to miss the action but also reluctant to not follow orders Yelena left the room.  She had barely been gone for 10 seconds when the sound of a repulsor drew closer.  Clint damn near laughed in relief.  Madame B. moved behind him and held him still taking up Yelena’s previous position, “Do it Natalia!” She demanded.  Natalia met Clint’s eyes and raised the gun.

\---

A few moments earlier…

Whatever the Red Room had been prepared for or expecting it became clear very fast they hadn’t even considered they would be facing off with 3 superheroes.  No one’s fault but their own, Steve thought as he threw his shield and took out 3 men the shield bouncing off of each of them before returning to the Captain.

“Stupid of them really,” Tony said over the coms “I mean, did they really think we would just let Red handle this on her own?”

Sam was mid-flight and twisted in the air closing his wings to kick 2 men at once before landing in a squat.  “I think it’s a Russian frame of mind,” he said effortlessly punching one of the men who had tried to sneak up behind him “You know, if it’s not your problem you don’t deal with it.”

“Sir,” Jarvis started to say “I feel it pertinent to share with you that these are not actually Red Room affiliates.”

Tony nearly froze before firing another stun repulsor at a man running towards him “What’s that Jarvis?!”

“There are currently only 2 known Red Room members in the compound.  Down the hall and to the right.  These armed men are just hired mercenaries.  They are, what you might call…small potatoes.”

“Did you design Jarvis to be this snarky?” asked Sam.

“Makes sense,” Steve said ignoring the side comment from Sam aiming a kick at a mercenary who had run full speed at him. “Natasha destroyed a Red Room faction before joining S.H.I.E.L.D.--even if this was their original HQ, they wouldn’t want to risk losing whatever they’ve built back up since she took them down.  In case their plan went sideways.”

“Precisely.”  Jarvis concluded.

“Is it fair to assume Red and Barton are down the hall in that room with the 2 Red Room peeps?”  Stark asked his AI.

“Heat signatures would confirm yes.”  Jarvis said.

“Alright let’s get them and blow this Popsicle stand.”  Sam said.  There was a trail of unconscious bodies behind them on the floor all down the hallway.  No one else stood in front of them.

The three of them jogged down the hallway and found a door open into some sort of room that had an electric chair in the middle of it.  But what they saw made them freeze.

Clint was kneeling on the ground being held by a woman, and Natasha stood just feet away aiming a gun at his head.

“What the f---?”  Steve started to say before he was yanked back and slammed into the wall outside of the room.

“Cap!”  Sam had turned to offer his assistance but felt a small disc hit his chest and made him start convulsing and fall to the floor.  Steve was getting his bearings together when he saw a red staff coming towards his head.  He raised his shield just in time to block it, and saw that the woman yielding it was wearing a dark smile on her face.

“What the hell, does she have a lightsaber?!”  Stark yelled.

“Tony!” exclaimed Steve motioning towards Clint.

“Right, got it.”  He said, before heading into the room. 

The staff came down towards Steve once again but this time he dodged it and the woman had overcompensated her swing leaving her to stumble forward and into the wall herself.  Steve wasn’t too happy about having to fight a woman, and was about to say so when she spoke in a heavy accented English “Captain America… seen your Winter Soldier lately?  Natalia may not remember him, but I do.”

Steve threw a punch towards her head which she easily dodged and she broke her staff into two so that she now had two red stock staffs.  She struck him in the back and he felt momentarily incapacitated by the electric surge that forced it’s way through his body.  He clenched his teeth and threw his arm back knocking the staff out of the way before landing a kick to her midriff that sent her flying down the hall. 

“Sam, you okay?” he asked.

Sam had removed the disc and was slowly getting to his feet, “I’m pissed.”  He said.  “I want to punch someone.”

“You’ll get your wish,” Steve said motioning towards the end of the hall.  The blonde woman was racing back towards them.  “She packs a wallop.”

“So can I.” Sam ran forward, the woman moved to swing at him but he jumped and used his wings to fly above her making her miss skid down the hall.  Steve was waiting for her, shield up and ready to go.  She wasn’t expecting Sam to slam into her from behind and she went sprawling towards the ground.

“You are making this too easy,” she said.  “Your naivety will be your downfall.”

“Lady, I’m pretty sure we’re kicking your ass.”  Sam said.

“Appearances can be deceiving.”  She threw something down on the ground and a cloud of smoke burst from the object.

Sam and Steve both looked around desperately, trying to find her.

“She’s like Houdini,” Sam said.  “She just keeps appearing and disappearing out of nowhere.

Steve touched his com, “Stark, check in?”

Tony didn’t answer, instead what they heard was a gun shot.

\---

“Tony!” Steve yelled motioning towards Clint.

“Right, got it.” Tony said before heading into the room.  He froze for a moment, trying to think of the next course of action.  Something obviously wasn’t right with this scene—Natasha would never voluntarily aim a gun at Barton’s forehead so that meant a few things could be happening and his next action would determine whether or not the outcome would be disastrous or not.  No pressure right?  Natasha was either faking allegiance, or she had already been reprogrammed.  But then, why hadn’t she taken the shot yet?

The woman holding Clint barely acknowledged Tony as he entered the room, her gaze was locked onto Natasha.  He had no doubt the woman knew he was there though.  There was a commanding presence about her that screamed authority and power.  Clint looked pretty bad at this point, if he was supposed to get birdbrain out of here he was going to have to think of a way to get him out of the battle zone before he could even think about returning to fight.  Banner would take care of him, he knew… the question was if he left what would happen if Tony left the scary lady with Natasha?  Okay, time to take some action… this was probably one of the stupidest things he had ever done and that was saying something.

“Sentry mode,” he said stepping out of the Iron Man suit.  He heard it close up behind him as he stepped forward a bit more.  “Hey there buddy,” he said to Clint who gave him a sideways glance “You look like you’ve had an interesting week.  Been partying without me?”

“Oh you know…” Clint spoke in a rough tone of voice, and Tony noted that his words were slightly slurred “I love a good party.  In fact, I’m sorry I didn’t invite you sooner.”

“I bet you are…” He directed his attention to Natasha fairly confident Clint wasn’t about to keel over and die.  “Red, we need to have a talk.  You keep running off trying to handle shit on your own and I’m going to get a beeper for you.”  Natasha didn’t look at him, but he could have sworn there was a moment where her eyebrows almost retracted in confusion.  “You want to put that gun down?  Maybe talk about our feelings?”

“Tony…”  Clint started to say but suddenly stopped and Tony looked over to see why.  The woman holding Clint had moved her hand to wrap around his throat and was constricting his airway.

“Stark…”  she said, still not looking at him he attention still fully on Natasha.  “If you want to walk out of here alive you should leave while you still can.  Natalia and I have unfinished business with the archer.”

“Yeah listen, I don’t know who you are” Tony said, his hands raised in a non-threatening manner “But the archer is coming with me.”

The woman looked at Tony for the first time and he almost faltered at the cold deadly look in her eyes.  “Oh you think so do you?” she spat out.  She looked back at Natasha, “I grow tired of waiting Natalia.  Take the shot so you can return home.”

Natasha regripped the gun and took another step forward.  Tony took a step forward only to stop when the lady holding Clint took out her own gun and pointed it at him.  “Not another step Mr. Stark.”

“Anyone ever tell you that you have a likeness to Lady Macbeth?  Maker of evil and chaos?”

“I will not warn you again Mr. Stark.”

Tony looked pleadingly at Natasha “C’mon Red… I know you.  You’ve beat their programming once before.  I know you’re in there.  I know you don’t want to do this.  You’re my friend, you’re Barton’s friend… Captain America is literally tag teaming with what’s his face out in the hallways against a killer woman for god’s sakes all of these people care about you.”  A note of desperation was creeping into his voice, “Please Natasha.”

This time he definitely thought he saw Natasha furrow her brows in confusion and nearly look at him questioningly.  But Lady Macbeth was definitely losing her patience and getting twitchy.  Tony moved his hand down his palm spread wide, his repulsor glove shot forward and fitted around his hand.  The Lady Macbeth didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late, “Sorry Nat.”  He fired the repulsor at Natasha and she went down.  Her gun going off and the shot going wide.  Lady Macbeth turned towards Tony and aimed her gun at him, but Clint—who was somehow still able to—disarmed her and wrenched the gun out of her hands before diving out of the line of fire.  The woman didn’t hesitate, she withdrew a knife from her belt and threw it at Tony and it pierced his shoulder.  He cried out in pain his arm dropping to his side and in the moment of distraction she had fled. 

Ignoring the searing pain in his shoulder for now, Tony ran forward to Clint, “Hey there Legolas, you doing alright?”

“Tony!”  Clint said in a warning tone and Tony turned around just in time to avoid a kick from Natasha.  He raised his repulsor again and hit her with it once, twice, three times until she became absolutely still. 

“Tony… what did you do?”  Steve and Sam had come back into the room, no doubt they had heard the gunshot and came to see what had happened.

Tony couldn’t help but roll his eyes “Relax, it’s set to stun.”  He said.  “We need to get Barton to Banner.  He’s in bad shape.”

“I got him.”  Said Sam bending forward and putting Clint’s arm around his shoulder.

“No offense pal,” said Clint “But who the hell are you?” 

“Sam Wilson, Falcon.”  He replied as he helped Clint out of the room. 

“Aw man,” said Clint “That’s just not fair.  Falcons are faster than hawks…”

“I’m going to let that slide because you’ve had a rough couple of days.”

Their voices got quieter as they got further away.  Steve looked at Tony “We lost the other Widow.”

“Yeah, I lost Lady Macbeth Widow.  Natasha’s not in her right mind. I hate to say it, but we have to take every precaution.”  Steve nodded grimly.  “Jarvis, send out some heavy restraints.”  It took a few seconds but a set of heavy duty restraints flew into the room and Steve took them pulling Natasha’s hands behind her back and putting them on.  They were high tech, with reactor energy and turned on the moment they met her wrists.

“You just going to leave that in your shoulder?”  Steve asked gesturing to the knife sticking out of Tony. 

Tony shrugged casually before wincing “I’ve had metal in me before whats a few more pieces going to do?  Banner will take care of it.  Can you take her though?  I think if I try to pick her up I’ll be sick.”

They both made their way out of the compound and towards the quinjet.

\---

Bruce had stayed in the quinjet, because he knew his teammates were right.  The Hulk couldn’t be seen rampaging in Russia.  At first he kept the coms open, so he could hear everything that was happening.  Eventually though he had had to turn them off.  Listening and not knowing was not a good combination.  He paced around the quinjet for a while, and at one point even tried meditating but with no luck. 

Eventually he headed outside hoping the fresh air would help clear his mind.  He wrung his hands together and pushed his fingers through his hair.

_No new is good news…_ he told himself.  _Just wait it out._  Another 10 minutes or so passed and Bruce was growing even more restless.  He should be doing something to help.  And then…

He saw someone running towards him.  It took him a moment to realize he didn’t know who the woman was. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even I keep surprising myself, this story is running away from me.


	7. Chapter 7

Before Bruce could even get a word out, the woman had run at him and threw him to the ground.

“Dr. Banner,” she said she spoke in English with a Russian accent.  He looked up at her, and could feel the Other Guy coming to the surface “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”  She withdrew a device from her belt,  “Allow me to turn you against your friends while I make my escape.”  The device in her hand flashed a bright red and Bruce knew no more.

\---

Sam supported Clint all the way to the quinjet but when they got there the hatch was open and Bruce wasn’t there.

“Shit…” Sam muttered, looking around for some sign of the scientist.  Where the hell…?”

Something slammed into him from the side and sent them both flying.  Clint rolled away and Sam recovered quickly to look up and see his attacker. 

It was Bruce.  But also… it couldn’t be Bruce.

His eyes were glowing a radioactive green and his veins were also pulsing a glowing green.  Green tinges faded in and out on his skin at different intervals.  It was as though he had started to transform into the Hulk but had been unable to make the full transformation.  As though something had gone wrong with the transformation. 

Sam hadn’t encountered the Hulk yet, so this hybrid of Bruce was deeply unsettling even more so than the Hulk would have been.  He looked at Clint who was trying to pull himself up from the ground, “Any ideas?” he asked.

Clint was shaking with weakness his arms trembling as he attempted to pull himself partially up from the ground.  As Clint had never encountered a hybrid of Bruce like this either no, he didn’t really know the best approach to deal with the situation either.  Also, he was tired.  “No fucking clue.”  And he passed out.

“Shit.”  Sam said, he extended his wings and flew a few feet into the air.

 _Priorities…_ he thought to himself.  _Don’t let the archer get squashed, and don’t let Banner get anywhere near civilization.  Let’s start there._ He withdrew two handguns from his belt, “Sorry big guy.”  He said before he fired off some shots at Banner.

Sam had figured the shots wouldn’t do anything to him, he knew about the Hulk and his indestructibleness.  So when the bullets didn’t have an immediate effect on the Banner hybrid, he wasn’t surprised that nothing had happened.  But as Banner came running at him he did think it foolish of himself to not realize how pissed the hybrid would be and chastised himself for the rash action.

Bruce had launched himself at Sam who flew up higher just out of Bruce’s reach.  As was clear when Bruce had slammed into them earlier, even though he wasn’t fully hulked out, he still had the strength of the Hulk—and jumped again this time high enough to reach one of Sam’s wings.  He grabbed it and pulled down slamming Sam to the ground with a loud thud. 

As Sam laid on the ground the hybrid Hulk tore at the wing ripping it off of Sam’s pack.  He was also fairly certain he heard the hybrid growl out something along the lines of “puny bird” but he could have imagined it.

With the suit down, Sam reached up to touch his com as the hybrid drew closer.  “Hey guys,” he said scooting back knowing he was just stalling for time at this point.  “Somethings happened to Banner.  He is…”  a roar emitted from Bruce loud enough that it could have been the Hulk himself “I don’t know what the hell he is but I could use some back-up.”

Bruce’s hand rose up in a fist and aimed towards Sam on the ground.  The only good thing about this was Bruce seemed to also gain the weight and density of the Hulk, so when he raised his fist it took him longer then it normally would have taken to raise it.  Sam rolled out of the way and onto his feet to avoid the fist squashing him.  “C’mon Banner…” Sam muttered “Snap out of it.”  Banner charged at Sam and Sam made to roll away but then he heard the approaching repulsors.

“Duck!”  he heard Tony yell.  So Sam did and got out of the way dive rolling to the left.  Iron Man caught Bruce’s fist as it came back down after another wind up. 

“What the hell--?”  Tony exclaimed, he had heard Sam over the com but seeing it in person was completely different.  The other scientist seemed to be acting from a place of primal instinct, no sign of his human side.  “Did you see what happened?”  He asked Sam, not looking away but focusing on keeping Bruce’s fist from smashing into him.  Iron Man’s feet were sinking into the earth with the effort of fighting him off.

“No clue,” Sam replied “I came back here and he wasn’t in the jet.  He slammed into Barton and I and has been trying to take us out since.”

“This is new,” Tony said, now using two hands to hold off Bruce’s fist.  Unfortunately that meant he couldn’t block the second fist that came pummeling down towards him and the armor was slammed into the ground.  “…ow.”

Steve had just caught up with them, Natasha still limp in his arms.  “What’s the situation?”  He said placing her down as gently as he could before grabbing his shield which hung on his back.  He swung it around and threw it at Bruce, but it didn’t make any difference and Steve wouldn’t have been surprised if Bruce had even felt it.

Bruce had raised his arms again and was trying to smash the Iron Man.  Tony was trembling trying to hold Bruce back from pummeling him further into the ground, lying on the ground holding Bruce off his arms shaking.  “I don’t like admitting when I don’t know something,”  Tony said his voice strained with the effort of keeping Bruce in check “But I really don’t know what the fuck is happening.  Something is wrong with Bruce.  Jarvis?”

“It appears Dr. Banner has been manipulated into mid-transformation, his mind has also been affected and his primal instincts have taken over.  He has no clue who any of you are.”  Jarvis reported.

“Will it last long?” asked Sam.

“I’m afraid I am unable to calculate how long the effects will last,” Jarvis said in a matter of fact tone of voice.  “The best course of action would be to subdue him somehow.”

“Ya think?”  Tony said his voice even more strained.  “Any idea on how we might be able to do that?”

Steve abandoned his shield on the ground and jumped behind Bruce throwing his arms around his neck, attempting to constrict his airways enough to make him lose consciousness.  “C’mon Bruce…” he said under his breath.

Bruce, realizing something was grabbing him from behind gave up trying to pummel Iron Man into the ground and started reaching back trying to get Steve off.  He stumbled back away from Iron Man trying to reach behind himself to pull Steve off, giving Tony a moment to catch his breath.  When Bruce  realized he wasn’t going to be able to reach Cap, he threw himself back with Steve and landed on his back crushing the Captain beneath him.

“Cap!”  Sam yelled moving forward but also hesitant to get too close.

“I’m fine…” Steve said sounding winded.

“Yeah and I’m the Queen of England.”  Tony said stumbling to his feet.  “C’mon Jarvis, anybody got any bright ideas?”

Bruce had stood up and Steve hadn’t let go of his neck—so Bruce was getting set to crush the Captain again. 

“Knock him out somehow.”  Steve repeated what Jarvis had said, before getting crushed once again.

“Okay,” said Tony “But I don’t think your way is working Cap.”

“There is a pressure point on the neck that may be effective,” Jarvis said.  “Because Dr. Banner still seems to be in a semi state of human form it may be the most effective.”

“It won’t hurt him?”  Steve asked still holding onto Bruce’s neck.

“Really Cap?”  asked Tony, incredulous.  “I think we both know Brucie boy is going to be just fine.  Jarvis highlight the pressure point for me on screen.”  Jarvis highlighted the pressure point through Tony’s helmet and gave instructions on how to activate it.  “Cap, try to hold him still.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing?!”  Steve yelled as a response.  Sam ran forward and did what he could to help, trying to grab Bruce’s right arm but it only lasted for a few seconds before he was flung ten feet away. 

Tony flew forward and triggered the pressure point, pressing hard into Bruce’s neck.  After a few seconds Bruce became limp and collapsed to the ground.  His vains were still pulsing and were still a radioactive green, and his skin was still still showed a tinge of green--but he was out. 

Steve let go of Bruce as the man keeled over and bent over grabbing his knees gasping for breath, barely avoiding falling to his knees himself.  Tony’s helmet flew open “You okay Cap?  That was a hell of a game of whack-a-mole.  You were the mole in case you were wondering.”

Steve took a couple of deep breaths before standing up and nodding “Peachy keen.”  He said placing his hands on his hips.  He turned to see where Sam had been flung over to “You good Sam?”

“Always.”  Sam said jogging back over towards them.  “What the hell was that about?”

Steve shook his head.

“Let’s find out later.”  Tony said.  Bruce’s veins had slowed down their pulsing and were returning to their normal color.  “I’m not taking any chances though.  Last thing we need is a hulk-out mid flight.  Jarvis, send me the Veronica restraint prototypes.”  From the quinjet flew out a heavy set of silver restraints, they attached themselves to Bruce’s wrists and ankles.  Steve looked disapproving but Tony raised an eyebrow “You’re really going to give me grief after what just happened?  You want to go through that again?”  Steve didn’t respond.  He just shook his head unsure whether he was responding to Tony’s question or just shaking his head as a dismissal of the situation.  He went to retrieve Natasha and bent over to pick her up.  Sam went over to Clint slung the other man’s arm around his shoulder carrying him to the quinjet.  Tony leaned down to pick up Bruce.

“Tony, your shoulder?”  Steve said as he saw the genius lean down to get his teammate.

“Yeah we’re way past that.”  Tony said his helmet going back down as he picked up the scientist.  “I think the adrenaline will last long enough for me to get the quinjet in the air but then I’m probably going to pass out.”  Steve looked concerned, but Tony waved him off as best as he could. “It’s okay we have auto pilot, well really auto Jarvis.  We’ll be fine.”  Steve didn’t look fully convinced but didn’t say anything more.  They both headed towards the quinjet.  “In fact, considering the circumstances I’d say we did a pretty great job,” Tony said slinging the scientist’s arm around his uninjured shoulder, “We just avoided an international incident.  Go us!”

They all boarded the quinjet, and closed up the ramp.  Tony had fitted the quinjet with more medical supplies after New York.  While they didn’t have a Hulk containment unit Tony did have a sedative prototype that he injected into Bruce the moment they boarded.  He also administered the sedative to Natasha.  When Steve gave him a questioning look Tony just shook his head “Not taking any chances.”

He stepped out of his armor and went over to where Sam had put Clint onto a gurney.  “Jarvis give me a medical scan on Barton.”

“He seems to have suffered several abrasions and contusions, his shoulder has also been dislocated.  I detect no immediate concern for internal bleeding.”

“Well, at least there’s that.”  Said Tony in a soft voice.  “Sam, can you help me reset his shoulder?”

“I’ll do it.”  Steve said, “Your shoulder is injured too Tony.”  Sam and Steve stood on Clint’s right side, hands placed on the archer’s shoulder.  “On three,” Steve said.  “One, two…” they both moved forward and popped the joint back into place.  Clint awoke with a cry and immediately tried to sit up.  “Take it easy Barton,” Steve said “we’re heading back.  Don’t try to exert yourself.  You’re going to be fine.”

“Yay me…” Clint muttered lying still.  Steve couldn’t help the grin and shook his head. 

“Alright Tony, now you.”  He said.

“Not quite.”  Tony said.  He gestured towards Natasha.  Sam bent over and picked her up placing her on another gurney.  “Jarvis, please engage restraints.”  Additional restraints came up from the gurney as the ones behind her back were disengaged.  “I’m not a monster,” he said “Who the hell wants to sleep with their hands behind their back?”  He winced at the pain in his shoulder, the knife was still sticking out of it.  “Anyone have a clue as to what to do about this?”  he asked gesturing towards the knife sticking out of his shoulder.

“I gotcha,” Sam said stepping forward with the first aid kit. 

“Jarvis, take us home.”  Tony said.  The quinjet turned on and began to fly.  “I don’t trust myself behind the wheel right now.  Everything looks… kind of—pretty.”

“Pretty?”  Steve asked, concern growing deeper on his face.

Sam sat Tony down and grabbed some gauze, “I’m pulling this out, okay?”  He tugged the knife out of Tony’s shoulder and immediately pressed the gauze to the open wound.  He started working on disinfecting and stitching it up.

“Hey Cap…”  Came Clint’s weak tone of voice.  Steve walked over to the archer.

“How are you feeling?”  Steve asked him, taking off his helmet and placing it on a shelf behind him.

“Like I got captured by two crazy Russian bitches who don’t have any hospitality.”  Clint said smirking just a little.  “How’s Nat?”

Steve paused a moment, he looked over at where the red head was resting.  “She’s out right now Barton, we’ll assess the situation when she wakes up.”

“It’s not her fault Cap,” Clint said determinedly.  “They put her back in that machine, and--” his voice faltered “and wiped her.  She didn’t know what she was doing.  Don’t hold it against her.”

Steve nodded understandingly, “I know.  And I won’t.”

Clint swallowed breathing deeply before wincing at the pain in his ribs.  “We have to get her back.”

“And we will.”  Steve said.  “Get some rest Clint, we’ll sort this out when we get back to the Tower.”

“Not going back on your ghost hunt?”  Clint asked almost absent mindedly.

Steve shook his head, smiling just a little.  “I think I need to spend some time with my team.”

\---

When Bruce woke up he had a pounding headache.  Like truly the worst headache he had ever experienced in his life.  Not even in his college days could he remember experiencing a hangover that had produced such a headache—although to be fair he wasn’t much of a partier in his college days so he didn’t really have any situations to draw comparisons to. 

He sat up slowly the aching throbbing in his head and he pushed himself up from the floor.  What the hell had happened?  They had been in Russia… he was waiting in the quinjet… getting restless he had gone outside for some fresh air and then—nothing.  He didn’t remember anything else.

Bruce slowly opened his eyes and it took a moment for his vision to focus, everything was blurry for a few seconds.  When it cleared he saw that he was unmistakably in the Hulk containment cell at the Tower.  He looked around and saw Tony standing outside of it, his arm in a sling, struggling to balance a StarkPad as he typed on it.

“Tony, what…?”  Bruce started to say.

Tony looked up, the StarkPad fell and Tony gave a half hearted effort to catch it.  “Bruce!  Welcome back to the land of the living.  How are you feeling?”

Bruce pushed himself up off of the floor, “I think I finally know what a hangover feels like,” he said. “What happened?”

Tony looked somewhat sheepish, “It really doesn’t matter I just need to ask you something.  Feeling murderous?  Do you know who I am?  Do you know where you are?  Are you about to rip me limb from limb?”

Bruce had a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.  “Tony…what happened?”

“We actually really don’t know.”  Tony admitted.  “We finished the rescue op, came out to get on the jet with you and you were… well, you weren’t normal.”

“I hulked out?”

Tony grimaced, “Not exactly.”  He reached down and picked up the StarkPad pressing a few buttons before turning it around and showing it to Bruce.  It was security camera footage from the quinjet, Bruce watched as his hybrid self threw his teammates around.  “We don’t have any footage of what made you do it though.”  Tony answered Bruce’s unasked question.  “But you’re fine now, so that’s what matters.”  Tony put down the StarkPad again and went to the controls for the Hulk containment cell, pressing a few buttons and opening it.  Bruce stepped slowly outside unsure of himself.

“I don’t know if letting me out is such a good idea…” he said.  Tony put up a hand,

“Bruce—you’re fine.  We trust you.  And you’re not glowing anymore.  I think we’re safe.”

Bruce raised his eyebrows, “Glowing?”

Tony huffed out a laugh “You were legitamentlly radioactive.  C’mon, let’s head to the other containment cell.  We need your help.  We got you back but, Romanoff’s still out and we don’t know what state she’ll be in when she wakes up.”  Bruce hesitated before following Tony out of the lab.


	8. Chapter 8

Bruce followed Tony into the other detainment area of the tower.  Steve and Sam were standing outside of one of the cells, along with Barton who was sitting in a wheelchair.

“Should you be out of bed?”  Tony asked Clint.  Clint didn’t respond, his gaze was fixed on the cell in front of him.

“He won’t stay in the med wing,” Steve explained looking away briefly.  “He refuses.”

“Who knew hawks could be so stubborn?”  Tony said in a snarky tone of voice.  “I think I’m starting to prefer falcons.”  He winked at Sam. 

Sam didn’t respond but had the ghost of a smile on his face.  “Good to see you doc,” he said to Bruce “you feeling alright?”

Bruce nodded “Yeah…”  he put his hands into his pockets “Sorry about um… throwing you around.  Tony showed me the video.”

“All is forgiven.”  Sam said smiling “That definitely wasn’t you.”

Bruce nodded but found himself unable to smile back.  He looked inside the cell and saw a head of red hair lying on the floor, her back was turned to them so they couldn’t see her face.  “Has she woken up yet?”

“No,” said Steve.  “we have no clue the current status of her either.  We gave her a sedative the moment we got back on the quinjet.”

“You mean, I did.”  Tony interjected.  “And she technically should be awake because I gave her a lower dosage then the one I gave to you.”  He said to Bruce.  “But she still hasn’t stirred.  I’m a little worried that I may have pulled a Sleeping Beauty and put her into an entranced sleep.”  He looked around heartily, “We need true love’s kiss!  I volunteer Barton, or hey Bruce has had a rough 24 hours he could probably do with some cheering up--”

“Shut up Stark.”  Clint said speaking for the first time, he still hadn’t looked away from Natasha.  “Natalia’s been awake for 12 minutes, she’s just trying to gauge the situation and find her next course of action.”

Steve, Bruce, and Sam looked shocked at this but as soon as Clint said it Natasha had sat up slowly and turned around.  There was something different about her though.  Her eyes lacked the warmth they usually held, and the grin on her face wasn’t one they were used to.  She held a cold demeanor about her, colder than any of them had ever seen before.

“I’m slightly impressed,” she said speaking in a neutral tone of voice.  “You must have excellent observational skills to have known I was awake.”

Clint shifted in the wheelchair, “I see best from a distance.”  He said, “I knew the moment you had woken up.  You’re not as hard to read as you think you are Natalia.”

The grin disappeared from her face and she gave Clint a dirty look.  Any lesser man would have trembled or cowered in fear but Clint didn’t so much as twitch. 

Tony raised a finger “I’m going to go ahead and say she is not better.” He said.  Steve looked helpless looking from Tony to Clint. 

“There a reason you keep calling her Natalia?”  Sam asked.

“This isn’t Natasha,” Clint said eyes still fixed on the woman.  “She looks like Natasha, but that’s about it.  This is the girl I met a long time ago, scared and afraid and tired of living.  She serves her masters well.  Isn’t that right Natalia?”

Natalia looked mutinous.  Tony actually repressed a shudder, Bruce wasn’t able to repress his and took a step back from the cell.

“You know nothing.”  She spat out.

“Really?”  said Clint, some levity finally sneaking into his tone.  “Why didn’t you kill me?”  A look of slight confusion crossed her face.   “Madame B. she told you to shoot me and you hesitated.”

“I did no such thing.”  She said.

“Well I don’t have a bullet in my head so I’m pretty sure you did.”  Clint said.  He struggled pushing himself out of the wheelchair, standing up he grabbed his side as he slowly made his way to his feet.

“Clint--”  Steve had reached out instinctively but Clint held up a hand to quiet him.  He walked closer to the glass of the cell.

“Something went wrong when they programmed you,” Clint said in a matter of fact tone of voice.  “You don’t know why, but you don’t want to kill me.  You found yourself unable to kill me.”

“And how do you know?”  She asked as she glared at Clint not breaking eye contact.

Clint smirked, “I saw it in your eyes.”

A faint look of recognition crossed her face, and Clint knew he wasn’t the only one who had seen it.

“What?”  Tony asked looked back from Clint and Natasha, “Is that super secret spy code for something?”

Clint paused a moment before finally turning away from Natasha and looking at Tony “It’s what I said to her on the mission where I was sent to kill her, but made a different call.”

Sam who hadn’t heard this before raised his eyebrows “Man you guys have some crazy complicated relationships.”

“Tell me about it.”  Tony muttered.  “Whatcha doing Legolas?”

For Barton had just limped away and was on his way out of the room.  “Let her stew for a bit,” he said.  “Give her some time to think.  I’ll check back in in a few hours.  I’m going to sleep.”  And not saying anything else he was gone. 

Tony looked around at Bruce, then Steve, then Sam, then Natasha, then Bruce again.  “He knows he doesn’t have a bedroom doesn’t he?  He hadn’t asked to move into the tower yet.”

“He can stay in my room,” Bruce said.  “I have some research I should do in the lab.  See if there’s anything I can do to help.”  Bruce followed Clint out. 

Steve rounded on Tony “You sure you should have let him out?” he asked once he knew Bruce was out of earshot. 

Tony gestured with his one good arm, “He woke up and was verbal and communicative—you know he wasn’t smashing anything.  I think we’re safe Cap.”  He looked around at Sam and back to Steve “You guys going to stick around?”

Steve looked over at Sam, “I am.  We could both probably do with a brief reprieve.  And I think I should spend some time here.”

Tony actually looked pleased “Great!  What about you Sam?”  He said turning towards the other man.

“I should head back to DC if we’re calling off the hunt for now,” Sam said.  “I got to head back to the VA and take care of some housekeeping.”  He stepped forward and extended his hand for Tony to shake.  Tony took it gratefully and gave him a firm handshake.

“Thanks for helping.”  Tony said in a surprisingly genuine tone.

Sam nodded before turning to Steve extending his hand again, “Thank-you Sam.”  Steve said sincerely shaking Sam’s hand.  “I really appreciate the support.”

Sam smiled “It’s like I said months ago, no better reason to get back in the game if Captain America needs your help.”  Steve chuckled, and Sam inclined his head towards the woman in the cell “Let me know how that turns out, ok?”

“I will.”  Said Steve.  Sam started heading out of the room before turning back to Steve “And I’ll keep checking those cold leads.  Let you know if I find anything.”

Steve nodded appreciatively, “Take care Sam.”  And with that he was gone. 

Now it was just the three of them.  Steve looked at Tony who looked right back at him and then they both turned to the woman in the cell.

“You think we can get her back?”  Tony asked.

Steve took a moment, thinking about his response carefully.  “Bucky remembered me.  He pulled me out of the Potomac.  He was supposedly beyond saving as well.  I have no doubt we’ll get her back.”

Tony nodded, he’d never admit it but he was oddly comforted by the captain’s response.  “Let’s grab some kip, give dual personality over here a chance to reconvene.”

“Tony…” Steve said chastising.   

“I’m just saying.”  Tony said throwing his arms up in defense.

\---

Bruce had showed Clint where his room was and assured the archer he could rest for as long as he needed to.  He then headed back to the lab.  Sitting down at a desk in front of the computer he spoke to Jarvis, “Jarvis could you pull up everything we have on the Red Room?”

Jarvis seemed to hesitate before answering “Yes Doctor Banner.”

Bruce wasn’t a masochist by any means and didn’t particularly like the idea of diving even further into the background of the Red Room but he felt he owed it to Natasha and his teammates to try to help out in any way he could.  He had been wracking his brains since he woke up in the containment cell, trying to remember what had happened before he had gone in hybrid Hulk mode.  But whenever he tried to remember what had happened he got a sharp pang in his head that made him stop thinking about it.

And that was why it occurred to him, “Jarvis I need you to focus on specific brainwashing techniques the Red Room employed.” 

“Very well Doctor Banner.”

Several different files were pulled up onto the computer.  “Let’s move this to the projection screen.”  Jarvis complied and the computer screen was projected so that it displayed onto a larger screen in front of him. 

The files showed that the Red Room had used some twisted form of shock therapy—from what Bruce could tell it was administered by sending shock waves to the brain that were meant to eliminate certain thoughts and patterns that the administrators wished to get rid of.  But there were also, earlier methods.  The shock waves seemed to be the latest development, but in the earlier days of the Red Room they seemed to have been experimenting with ocular nerve triggers.  Basically, inducing behaviors and thought processes with colors. 

That’s when Bruce suddenly remembered; there had been a blonde woman running towards him… he wasn’t sure who she was from a distance but as soon as she was close enough he had realized he didn’t know who she was.  She had spoken in a Russian accent, but knew English very well.  Just her presence had unnerved him, and had set the Other Guy on alert.  What is it she had said?

_“Pleased to make your acquaintance.  Allow me to turn you against your friends while I make my escape.”_

Then there had been a bright flash of red light and—

“Bruce?”  Tony’s voice came out of nowhere, Bruce was suddenly aware that he had his head in his hands, and he was kneeling on the ground.  His head was throbbing painfully.  “Bruce!”  Tony’s voice had drew closer and sounded more urgent.  A hand touched Bruce’s shoulder and the scientist nearly jumped out of his skin “Woah big guy,” came Tony’s voice “Jarvis alerted me that you were in distress.  Do we need to get you back in the containment cell?”  He rubbed his hand on the scientists shoulder in a comforting manner “I really like my lab and would rather not have you break it.”

Bruce huffed out a laugh despite himself and still holding his head he said “No… no I’m… I’m fine.”  He said.  He looked to see that Tony was kneeling down next to him a hand on his shoulder.  “I remembered something.  A woman… she’s the one who triggered the hybrid.”

Tony raised his eyebrows in slight surprise, “How do you mean?”

Bruce shakily got to his feet, Tony held out his arms in case the scientist went down again.  Bruce indicated the projection of the Red Room files, “One of the earlier techniques employed by the Red Room… was using different triggers on the ocular nerves.”

Tony nodded understanding, “Visually yeah that makes sense.  And could probably be effective for short term use.”

Bruce nodded in agreement “There was a woman… she had run out of the compound.  I didn’t know who she was.  She pulled something from her belt and it flashed in my eyes.  Whatever it was… it triggered the hybrid.  She must have been in league with the Red Room.”

“Do you remember what she looked like?”  Tony asked.

“Taller than Nat… shoulder length blonde hair and bright blue eyes.”

Tony grimaced “Light saber girl.”

Bruce’s brow furrowed, “What?”

Tony waved him off “Doesn’t matter.  I know who you’re talking about though, she nearly took out Rogers and Sam.”

Bruce gaped at him, “She nearly took out Captain America?”

Tony shrugged trying to make it seem not like a big deal “Crazy Russians.  Anyways she got away.”

Bruce nodded “That’s why she triggered me.  I was meant to be a distraction for her escape.”

Tony felt a pang of anger but didn’t let it show.  Then he realized something, “How did she know who you were?”

Bruce paused thinking this over before shrugging “I mean, my experiment wasn’t exactly something that was hidden from the public.  The Hulk very nearly broke Harlem, I told you that.”

“No but she…” Tony broke off.  “Come with me.”  Tony headed out of the lab and Bruce followed close by.  They took the elevator up to the kitchen.  Steve was leaning against the counter drinking a beer, but he looked over as the two scientists approached.  “Hey Cap,” Tony said “Didn’t the blonde Jedi say something that was personal?”

Steve faltered, “What do you mean?  And what’s a Jedi?”

Tony rolled his eyes “Star Wars Steve, watch Star Wars…”

“They told me to watch Star Trek.”  He responded softly.

“I cannot handle this conversation right now,” Tony muttered “Look blondie wasn’t exactly whispering Rogers, I heard her mention the Winter Soldier.”

Steve thought for a moment, “Yeah… she did.”

Tony looked back to Bruce his suspicions confirmed, “They were expecting us.”  Bruce nodded.

“How do you mean?” asked Steve.

“She knew I’d be in the quinjet,” said Bruce “She knew about the Other Guy, she triggered the hybrid to use as a distraction for her escape.”

Tony looked over at Steve, then back at Bruce “You put Barton in your room right?”  Bruce nodded.  “He’s still in there right?”  Bruce nodded half way before dashing out of the room and calling the elevator.  Steve and Tony jogged up to meet him and rode up to Bruce’s floor. 

The elevator moved surprisingly quick and soon they found themselves on Bruce’s floor.  Bruce sped walk to his bedroom and found the sheets disrupted, an indent in the pillow but no one was inside of it.  There was a vent to the left of the bed, a chair had been pulled to be directly underneath it, the vent was leaning on the side of the chair.

“Well shit…” came Tony’s voice from the doorway.

\---

Natalia was sitting contemplating in her cell.  She was thinking about her next course of action.  She heard some movement above her.  She didn’t look up immediately, not until she heard something in the vent directly above her.  She looked up to see the grate shifting.  She stood up not taking away from the grate.  It was shifted away and someone dropped through the open vent—they held on to the vent before letting go and dropping down.  It was the man from earlier, the one who had asked why she hadn’t killed him.

“Are you stupid?” She asked.

His eye was still swollen shut but the expression was clearly readable on his face, his eyebrow quirked up.  “Really?”  He asked.  “No.  No I’m not stupid.”

“You’ve just trapped yourself in here with me… I could kill you in seconds.”

He actually smiled, “But you won’t.”

She crossed her arms.  “Are you willing to bet your life on that?”

He raised his arms and looked around “Pretty sure I just did.”

She shook her head frustrated, and she wasn’t even sure why.  “Stupid.”  She muttered.

“You’re still not attacking me Natalia.”

She turned to face him, “Are you trying to change my mind about that?”

He shook his head, “Not at all.”  He said, he leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.  “But I’m trying to get you to realize something.”

“Really?” She said leaning against the opposite wall.  “Is that why you waited to escape your friends?  You obviously didn’t want to talk to me in front of them.”

He shook his head casually, “I just didn’t want them to stop me.”  He said.  “I knew I needed to see you face to face, without a glass wall between us.  They’re a bit overprotective, wouldn’t have let me do it.  They mean well… but they can’t always do what is necessary to get things done.”

“So instead you throw yourself into the lions den?”

“If you’re calling yourself a lion, I gotta say you’re one of the most tame lions I’ve ever met.”  She glared at him, “Then again maybe that’s the whole point.  A tame lion… are you just waiting for your next orders?”

“I don’t…” she started to say.  Then stopped herself realizing she had showed her cards.  She pursed her lips.  “What do you want from me?”

Clint took a moment before answering, “I think part of you remembers me.  Or at least, recognizes me.  And you don’t want to admit it.”

She shook her head, “No I don’t.”

“Then why haven’t you tried to kill me?”

“Maybe you’re not worth killing!”  She snapped back.

At her anger he smiled even more “You’re letting your emotions take over Natalia.”

She felt herself growing frustrated, and hated the emotions that were sneaking up on her.  She steeled herself, looking away from the man trying to find anything else to stare at.  So she looked up at the security camera in the corner. 

There was something strange about it.  It was flickering, then suddenly it emitted a bright red light. 

Clint could tell something had happened, she had fixed her gaze on something on the ceiling and wasn’t looking away.  “Nat…?” he said questioningly.  He looked up to see what she was looking at.  The security camera was flashing a bright red light, it definitely didn’t regularly do that. 

Next thing he knew he was being pinned to the wall.  Natalia had crossed the room, flown at him, and thrust her arm underneath his chin cutting off his airway, her other arm rearing back ready to strike.  “Nat--” he choked out.  Looking into her eyes, he saw no recognition.  Only determination.  A determination to kill. 


	9. Chapter 9

He raised his arms and grabbed her arm that was threatening to cut off his oxygen, trying to pull her off of him.  Her other arm swung back and formed into a fist slamming into his temple.  Clint went for a different approach realizing he wasn’t going to get anywhere with his fists.  Clint used his foot and kicked out at her kneecap.  She faltered and her arm fell away.  He gasped for air but didn’t hesitate and wound his fist back and struck her in the face his fist connecting with her cheek. 

Tony, Steve, and Bruce chose that moment to walk in.  They froze as they saw the scene unfolding in front of them.  “Oh you gotta be kidding me.”  Tony said.  He went to the cell controls and tried to open it up.

“Get it open!”  Steve said.

“Gee, why didn’t I think of that?”  Tony said sarcastically, he tried pressing the buttons to open the cell but to no avail.  “Somethings wrong with the system.  I can’t get the door open.”

“Someone hacked in?” asked Bruce.

Natasha had just thrown herself at Clint, her legs went up in the air and she wrapped them around his neck, then threw herself forward using her momentum to throw him down to the ground as she balanced herself on the ground using her hands.  He didn’t let that deter him--as soon as they crashed to the floor he threw her against the wall. 

“They’re going to kill each other…”  Steve said quietly, true fear creeping onto his face as Natasha slammed into the wall and her head snapped back painfully.

As Natasha collided with the wall, Clint took the opportunity to shout out at them “It’s the security camera!  See if you can shut it off!”

Natasha had recovered quickly, and thrown herself at him again this time hopping onto his back wrapping her arms around his neck.  He threw himself forward, somersaulting and smashing her beneath him. 

“Jarvis shut down the camera.”  Tony said. 

“I’m afraid the camera is outside of my control.”  Jarvis replied.

“What the hell?!”  Tony exclaimed, “I’m supposed to be unhackable what the fuck is going on?”

“Don’t take it personally Mr. Stark,” came a woman’s voice over the intercom.  “We had a back-up plan in place, thinking you would come to Natalia’s rescue.  I have infiltrated your system.”

Tony looked over at Steve and Bruce, “Blonde Jedi.”  He said.  “Jarvis where is she broadcasting from?”

“A remote location, I shall start a trace.”  Jarvis replied.

“I can’t shut down the camera Clint.  You’re going to have to take it out yourself.”  Tony said, also calling his Iron Man suit. 

“Way ahead of you.”  Clint said, everyone looked over to see that Clint had taken off his shoe and flung it at the camera, it had knocked it out onto a strange angle but was still mounted on the wall.  Natasha was coming at him again and he performed a double kick that sent her to the ground.  He ripped off his other shoe and flung it at the camera.  This time the camera was knocked off and clattered to the ground.  But Natalia hadn’t stopped.  She delivered a swift punch to his abdomen and another to his face.  He sent an uppercut to her chin that she made her stumble back a few feet.

Tony had his armor glove on and was trying to shoot the cell open with the repulsor.

“Tony… you designed this—you know you won’t be able to blast it open.”  Bruce said.

“Well I can’t think of any alternatives, can you?”  Tony snapped.  “Unless you want to get your green friend out here--”

“I don’t think that’s a good call.”  Said Steve.  And he ran out of the room.

“Where the hell is he going?” asked Tony looking around at Bruce.

Bruce shook his head, he had no clue.

Natalia seemed to be gaining the upper hand.  She had delivered a swift punch to his throat and when he stumbled back she had scissored her legs around his waist and pulled him down to the ground.  She didn’t waste any time and while he was down she crawled on top of Clint and put her hands around his throat strangling him.  Clint moved his hands to her arms trying to pry her arms off of his neck.  His face was turning redder by the second.  Tony ran over to the cell and banged on the glass, but it didn’t deter her, not that he thought it would but he hated the helplessness he was feeling. 

Then suddenly out of the vent tumbled Steve, front flipping into the cell his shield attached to his back.  He hauled Natalia off of Clint grabbing her from behind and wrapping his arms around her then threw her against the cell wall.  He turned back to look at Clint,

“You okay--” he started to ask.

“Cap!”  Clint choked out, pointing behind him.

Steve turned around just in time to see Natalia throwing herself into the air aiming directly for her shoulders, his shield clattered to the ground as her feet made contact with it.  She had vaulted directly on his shoulders and secured herself wrapping her thighs around his neck, and started slamming her fists into his head.  Steve’s hands went to her thighs and tried prying them off of his neck to no avail.  A slow panic was creeping into his senses.  Clint had jumped up to where the vent had been and hung from the open grate.  He swung forward his feet collided with her shoulder intending to knock her off of Steve’s shoulders.  Her grip around his neck was so tight though that she and Steve went down to the ground in a pile of limbs.  Clint took the opportunity to haul the temporarily dazed Natasha up and slam her face forward against the wall.  Before she could strike back he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. 

“Cap!”  he yelled.  Steve took the cue and twisted her other arm behind her back also grabbing the arm that Clint had originally grabbed.  Steve than turned her around so that she had her back to him as he held her arms against her back.  She struggled ruthlessly, and started lashing out with her legs trying to strike anything within her reach. 

Clint went to pick up the shield that Natalia had knocked off of Steve, “Sorry about this Nat…” he said rearing back with the shield and slamming it into her head. 

She looked dazed and stopped struggling her legs falling limply.  She looked up at Clint some recognition flickering in her eyes “…Clint?” she mumbled.  Clint didn’t hesitate, he took one look at her, grabbed the back of her head and holding the shield up, then he slammed her head into the shield.  She went out immediately, she became a dead weight in Steve’s arms.

Clint panted heavily, he looked up at Steve would had a slight look of relief on his face now that she was now out.  It had been draining trying to take to her down, which he didn’t like having to do in the first place.  Steve eased her down onto the ground cradling her head until he placed it gently on the ground.  Steve stood up and looked at Clint questioningly.  Clint just shook his head, panting with the effort and shrugged, “Cognitive recalibration.”  He explained, “I went for the head.”

Steve shook his head, but not because he disapproved.  Because he couldn’t believe what they just did.  He picked up the shield from the ground and put it back onto his back.  He went to the cell door and he looked out at Tony.  Tony shook his head, he still hadn’t been able to get it open even after the camera had been knocked out of commission.  Steve grabbed the sliding cell door, and pulled it to the left, it took him a moment, but he pried it open.  Clint bent down and scooped Natalia up off of the ground.  He stumbled a bit, forgetting about his own injuries.  Steve reached forward and took her from him.  Clint nodded his thanks.

Tony was still right outside of the cell, “We’ve got problems.”  He said.  “Like several problems.  Problems that we shouldn’t have because I’m a genius…” he sounded insulted and miffed.

“One problem at a time.”  Clint said, limping next to Steve as they walked out of the cell together.  “We need to get her to the med bay.  Strap her down.”

Tony looked taken aback.  “You sure that’s the best idea?”  he asked.

Clint nodded, “She did the same for me.”  He responded.  “I’ll stay with her.  That way you can sort out your issues once she’s secure.”

\---

Once she was secure in the med bay Tony checked in with Jarvis, he pulled up a hologram in the living space next to the kitchen.  Steve and Bruce were both sitting at the kitchen counter, even though he was a super soldier Bruce was helping patch him up.

“Did we ever trace to where she was broadcasting from?” Tony asked Jarvis. 

“I’m afraid not sir,” the AI replied.  “The signal she was broadcasting from was bounced from server to server, it seemed to have originated to New Jersey but as soon as I started to trace it bounced to servers in the UK, then France and Germany.  As soon as the security camera was knocked off of the wall the signal was dropped.”

Tony ran his hands through his hair, frustrated.  “Alright fine,” he said “Let’s keep an eye out for her.  Monitor CTV cameras, traffic cams, any public surveillance where she might turn up.  She can’t hide forever.”

“Of course sir.”

“In the meantime let’s fix our firewall, she never should have been able to hack into us.  Let’s find out how she did it, and then make sure it never happens again.”

“Yes sir, I shall run a full diagnostic scan looking for how she was able to infiltrate, then I will start writing a new security program.”

“Keep me informed of progress.”

“Of course sir.”

Tony ran his hands over his face, and turned towards his teammates in the kitchen.  He walked over to find Bruce bandaging a cut over his eyebrow.

“Hey there Cap, how ya feeling?”

“Honestly?”  Steve said as Bruce placed a butterfly bandage over his eye.  “Kind of feels like I’ve been thrown in front of a stampede and trampled over.”

Tony grimaced “She sure packs a wallop, doesn’t she?”

Steve raised his eyebrows and nodded “Yeah… she does.”

“I’m honestly surprised you’re not concussed.” Bruce said. 

“Actually so am I.”  said Steve.

Tony grinned, trying to give some levity to the situation “You got a hard head Rogers.  It’d be hard to concuss you.”

Steve huffed out a laugh, shaking his head.

Bruce turned to Tony “Any luck with the trace.”

The grin on Tony’s face dropped and he shook his head.  “No luck.  I have Jarvis searching surveillance in case she resurfaces, and we’re patching up the firewall so something like this will never happen again.  I still can’t believe it happened.”

Before Bruce or Steve could respond, Jarvis spoke over the intercoms “Master Barton has requested that you all join him in the medical bay.”

“Tell him we’re coming Jarvis.”  Tony said.

\---

Clint was sitting next to his unconscious partner, who was strapped down to the hospital bed with leather restraints on her wrists and ankles.

It was very reminiscent of when he had woken up in the Helicarrier med bay, except their positions had been reversed.  He pulled out his phone and opened up a new text message, _Sorry I haven’t been in touch—I’ll explain as soon as I can.  I’m with the team, I’m okay.  I love you.  Hugs to you and the kids.  We’ll talk soon.  Don’t call or text back—not in the clear to safely talk yet._ He sent the message feeling a pang of guilt at not talking to her and leaving her up in the air for the moment but there wasn’t much else he could do at this point.

Suddenly, the woman on the bed stirred.  She had immediately pulled at the restraints strapping her down.  Her head moved to the side and her eyes opened.  She blinked getting used to the lighting in the bright med bay then she saw Clint. 

“How bad?”  She asked.

“Depends,” he said “how are you feeling?”

“If you’re asking me if I’m about to try to kill you the answer is no.”  She said.  “Did I hurt anybody?”

“No lasting damage.”  He said.  “Nothing you should worry about.”  The look on her face told him there was no way that was going to happen.  “We need to talk… I think we need to brief the team.”

Natasha looked up at the ceiling then closed her eyes.  “Fine.”  She said.  Clint moved to undo the restraints, “I don’t know…”

“I trust you Nat.” He said.

“Maybe you shouldn’t.” She replied quietly.

“Don’t do this,” he said laying his hand on top of hers “it wasn’t your fault.  I trust you, the team trusts you.  We’re going to get through this.”  She didn’t reply and he continued to undo the restraints.  “Jarvis, please tell everyone to meet us in her.”

“Yes Master Barton.” The AI replied.

After all of the restraints were undone Natasha sat up noticing for the first time the aches and pains she felt in her body.  Clint noticed the wince and grinned slightly “You might be sore for a few days.”  He passed her a bottle of water.

“Yeah no kidding.”  She said, taking the water gratefully and putting the bottle to her lips and taking a swig of water.  They sat in silence and a few minutes later Bruce, Steve, and Tony walked in.

“Hey Nat…” said Bruce hesitantly.  She smiled weakly at him the smile not reaching her eyes.

“Hey Red, how are you feeling?”  Asked Tony.

She nodded avoiding their gaze “Better,” she said looking up at them “Listen…”

Tony shook his head “Don’t apologize for something that’s not your fault.  The only thing I want you to apologize for is trying to rescue Barton solo.  You never should have done that in the first place.”

“I didn’t think--” she started to say.

Tony snapped his finger and pointed at her “Yeah see that’s the problem you didn’t think.”

“Tony…” chastised Steve gently.  Natasha was looking away again.  Steve looked at her “Do you remember what happened?”

She nodded “Bits and pieces.  But I got the overall gist.”  She said.  “Did you find Yelena and Madame B.?”

Bruce shook his head “They got away.  Yelena—if that’s her name the blonde right?”  Natasha nodded, “She somehow hacked into the tower but we weren’t able to trace her.”

Tony shook his head, he was clearly still miffed “It’ll never happen again.  Jarvis is patching up and reworking the firewall and security protocals.  I also have him checking any and all surveillance, if either of them show their faces we’ll find them.”

“No you won’t,” Natasha said shaking her head.  “Not if they don’t want to be found.  Yelena was trained in the same program as me.  Madame B. helped run the program, and I thought she was dead until I saw her a few days ago.  If they don’t want to be found we won’t find them.”

No one spoke for a moment, “Well this is depressing.”  Tony said.  Bruce shot him a look and Tony shrugged in defense.  “What?  It is.”

“Alright,” Natasha said standing up shakily.  Clint reached out to help her but she waved him away.  “I should go pack.”

“Pack?”  Steve said confused “What for?”

Natasha looked at him dumbfounded “I can’t stay here.  I thought all the triggers in my head were gone but they’re obviously not.  I don’t know when this could happen again, next time I could actually kill one of you.  It’s not safe for me to stay here.  Surely, you must realize that.”

Tony looked at Clint incredulously “She’s kidding right?”  He looked at Natasha “You’re kidding right?”  The look on her face told him she was definitely not kidding.  “You’re not going anywhere Romanoff.  Hate to break it to you but you’re part of a team and we’re not letting you run off.  You’re an Avenger, whether you like it or not.”

Now Natasha looked incredulous and then to Clint for support, but he wasn’t looking at her.  He was staring pointedly at the wall avoiding her gaze.  “Stark, I’m doing this for the safety of the team.”

“I don’t think you get to make that call Nat.”  It wasn’t Tony or Clint who had said this, but Bruce.  “Using that logic, I shouldn’t have been living in this tower since New York.  I shouldn’t be allowed to live in any human populated area.  But I do, and you know why?”  She didn’t say anything so he continued “Because you guys trust me.  And I trust you to handle me and the Other Guy.  So… you’re not going anywhere.”

Natasha looked surprised but touched by this confession, but also didn’t want the emotions to be seen on her face so she avoided everyone’s gazes.

“Alright,” Tony said.  “Now that that’s been settled let’s talk dinner.  Jarvis, order a pizza.”

Natasha chanced a look over at Clint, and found him staring back at her.  He was giving her a small smile and a look in his eyes that spoke nothing but comfort.  There was a message being communicated as they stared into each other’s eyes in those few short moments.  Up until that point the only family Natasha had ever had was the Barton family—Laura, Cooper, Lila, and Clint.  But after what Bruce had just said, she realized that she had found herself in the midst of another family.  And she her heart warmed comfortably.

 


End file.
